Sewing-machine.



A; T. MACE.

SEWING MACHINE.

APPLIGATIQN FILED mman. 1914.

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A. T, MACE. SEWING MACHINE.

PLIGATlON HLBD MAE. 30,'l914.

Patented Mar. 2, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHBET 2.

LLFOS.

A. T. MACE, SEWING MACHINE. 4 lAPPLICATION FILED MAR. so. 1914. 1&23939, Patented Mar. 2, 1915 '3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

nanna ai. meer., or naar inmunitario, eine.

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Ta all 'whom it 'may concern i Be it lmown that l, Annina citizen of theUnited States, residing ,at

'East' Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga' A vhad to the accompanying; drawings.

10; This invention relates to* improvements in sewing machines, especially motor driven `sewingmachines,.and has particular referi .ence to a'mechanism, including a motor, for incorporation in the heads ci sewingV mais chines @or operatively connecting and driving'the upper, or `needle bar operating shafts y and the shuttle actuating means thereof.

rin inotor driven sewing machines which have been used heretofore, and with which i ain familiar, the motor issupported from "some part of the machine and drives it t through comrectiony with the hand Wheel, the usual belt, or through special gearing between the niotor shaft and the needle bar operatingshaft of the machine. yln such constructions, the motor i`s usually mounted upon the table of the sewing machine where it is in the way of ,the operator and where itA occupies space which could be advantageously utilized'for' other purposes. `Th1s arrangement, moreover, cannot be very conveniently incorporated in sewingmachines ,of the drop head type, because, even it the head were dropped below the table of $5 `the machine, the motor would still occupy its ,usual position, and'little advantage vcfavid accomplished by dropping the head. Eiiorts have been made to overcome this difliculty by locatingthe motor beneath 4&0A the table of the machine, but this places the AInotor in an inconvenient position to be 'reached for the purpose ofcleaning, oiling, or inspecting the'niotor. The motor has also been supportedfrom `the rear of thesewing' machine head, and connected through gearl ingto the needle bar operating shaft,wliich arrangement allows it tobe dropped with the head of the machine. These construc i tions, however, leave the motor unprotected from dust, lint, or ravclings and, in most cases, 'cause the machine to present an unsightly appearance. `V

` It is the objectsof my invention to pro vide af sewing machine which is capable of being operated, when desired, by the usual w i foot treadle; and to incorporate in the Specicaticn or Lettera 'retient Application ile March 30, 191e; Serial No. 828,14S.

`T. MACE, aI

Patented hier. mit,

mechanism that is corntained within the head of the machine and operatively connects the needle bar operating device and shuttle ac tuated means, a motor, whereby the machine may be operated through said mechanism.

By this, arrangement, the machine is rendered neat and attractivein appearance, and,

in the preferred embodiments of my invenn tion, the presence of the mot-cr within the head of the machine does not interfere, in

'the slightest' degree, `with the operation of the machine by the foot treadle mechanism.

More generally stated, my invention prou vides a machine which is equipped with the usual foot trcadle mechanism, and which has a motor concealed Within the head of the machine, either of which may be used to drive the machine entirely independent of the other; for, as will be brought out here inafter, means are vprovided whereby the foot treadie mechanism may be disconnected or thrown out of operation when it is desired to drive the machine by motor power; and, because of the ratchet connection be tween the motor and the operatingmcchanisin of the machine, the motor is automatically disconnected from said operating mechanism when the foot treadle mechanism whereby the operator may very easily and accurately control the machine, which means,

when moved in one direction, acts to start the machine, and which, when moved in the reverse direction, `vill act toiretard or stop the operation of the machine. 4 f

Other objects einbracedby my invention will vbecome apparent as this description proceeds. f

Generally speaking my invention may be defined as consisting of the combinations of elements set forth in the annexed claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein- Figure l is a front elevation of the head of a sewing'machine embodying my inven? tion, a portion 'of the head of the machine being,r shownin central. vertical. section to clearly reveal the mechanism therein; 2, 3 and i are horizontal sections onthe dorrespondingly numbered lines of Fig. Leach or' the views representing the parts as 'they would appear ii looking in'thedirection indicated by the arrows associated with its respective section line; Fig. 5 is a fragmentary end elevation of the head of the sewing machine shown in Fig. 1, including a part of the means for controlling the operation of 'the machine; Fig. G isa frontelevation, partly in section, of'a sewing machine head embodying a modified form of my invention; Fig. 7, is a horizontal section on the line '7-7 of Figz; Fig. 8 is a fragmentary, sectional front elevation of another modilied form. of my invention; and Fig. 9 is a horizontal section on the lineK of Fig. 8, looking up.

For the purpose of illustrating my invention, l have shown it associated with a sewing machine of a well known make, which comprises, generally, a bed plate 1, a head 2 which rises from one end thereof, and an arm 3 which extends horizontally from the upper end of the head, over and parallel to the bed plate 1. Extending longitudinally through the arm 3, and journaled therein in the usual manner, is a needle bar operating shaft 4. This shaft may be turned by the hand wheel 5 that is secured to its end, or it mayybe rotated by a belt which passes .over a pulley 6, mounted upon the shaft alongside the hand wheel, the belt being driven bythe foot treadle operated mecha nism that is always present in sewing machines of this kind. A spring plunger is used for locking the pulley to the hand'wheel when it is desired to drive the machine by the belt, but as this is common in the art,

it is thought unnecessary to illustrate it.

Below the bed plate 1 there is journaled, in suitable brackets 7 and 8, a shaft 9 through which the shuttle of the machine is actuated.

All of the above mentioned parts are common to sewing machinesI of the character herein illustrated, and,since the needle bar operating mechanism that is housed within the outer end of the arm, and the shuttle actuating means, form no part of my vinvention, it is deemed unnecessary to include fury ther details of these parts in the drawings,

than appear in such elevations as have been selected for the purpose of 'showing the general relation between these parts, and the y mechanism which constitutes my invention;

lVliile' I have shown a shaft for operating the shuttle actuating means, l wish it to be understood that l do not confine myself to the combination of my improved mechanism, with a machine having a rotating shaft for this purpose, asv it is obvious that the adaptation of my motor driven mechanism to a machine having various forms of chine is hollow, and situated within theshuttle actuating means, falls clearly within the scope of my invention.

As will be seen clearly from the various views of the drawings, the head 2 of the inalower portion of the hollow head 2 is an electric motor which is shown generally at 10 and which comprises the usual armature 11, field magnets y12, commutator,13., .and

brushes 14. The armature 11 is provided with a tubular. shaft 15. y y

I will first describe that forrriof my invention which is shown in Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive. Depending from one side of the lower part ofthe head 2 of the machine, and extending toward the vertical center of the head, is a bracket 16 which terminates in a hollow boss 17, within which is journaled the lower end of a shaft 18 that extends upwardly through the hollow shaft 15 of the armature.. At its upper endfthe shaft is journaled within the bracket 19 that extends from one side ofthe head 2, and above the bracket n19, a bevel pinion 20 is pinned to said shaft. ,l lar pinion 21 that issecured to thejr'fshaft 41 of the machine. The lower end ofthe shaft 18 has pinned to it a bevel pinion/which meshes with a bevel' pinion 23 that is fixed to the adjacent end of the shaft 9. For con- .venience of expression, the shafts et and 9 will be referred to as the upper and lower This pinion meshes with a simithe usual manner, through the foot treadle mechanism and the belt which passes over the pulley 5; it being understood that the shaft 18 is l'oose within the armature shaft 15. A halved bearing 24 is provided for the lower end of the armature shaft' 15, which bearing formsapart of the bracket 16.

ln the above form of my invention, I drive the shaft 18 from the armature shaft 15 through planetary gearing, the connection between the planetary gearing and the shaft 18 being accomplished through a roller ratchet. By this means the shaft 18 is permitted to rotate freely when the machine is operated by foot power and the motor is lnot running, but which willr be picked up and rotated by the motor, when the motor is set in operation.

The planetary gearing includes a spur gear 25 that is keyed to the upper end of the armature shaft 15, and which meshes with a pair of idlers 26 that` are journaled upon pins 27 carried by a disk 28, the hub 29 whereof is loosely mounted upon the armature shaft 15. The idlers 26 mesh with an internal gear 30 that is loosely .journaled `upon the shaft 18,- said gear 30 having a hollow, annular boss 31 which rises from its upper surface and which is concentric to the Ai@aimais thepnrpose 'of retaining the rollers v3,5

, Within the recesses '32,and orproteeting they aresomewhat deeper than the' diameter of the rollers 33 ;,While at their reduced ends they are not as deep. This provides a roller A clutch of the usualorm. From this it willv he seenthat when the .internal gear 30 is rotated in the direction :indicated by the arrow Ain Fig. 2, 'the rollers 33 will be wedged h'etWeen the pposed surface of the barrel 3a andthe Walls of the recesses 32, and will lock the lparts together to drive the `shait 18 in the same direction, which is Vthe apprhpriate direction to operate the mas chine. it is obvious from this, also, that if the shaft 18 were rotated in the direction. in-

' dicated hy the arrow in said Fig. i2, While the gear 30 .is at rest, the rollers 33 will occupy the large ends of the notches 32 and not interfere with such rotation of the shaft.

it will he observed from Figs. l to y5, that a hand; 37 encircles the dislr 28 and is reM -tained in 'position by a peripheral iange 38 that projects from the lower edge of the disk. A bracket 39 is secured to the side oi the head 2, and carries a stud li() Whereon is journaled a lever 4l.. f The' lever is forked adjacent the stud 40, and to the exposed portion of the stud is attached one end oi 4the band 37.` The oppositeend ofthe band is attached" to a riyet 4:2 that extends across the forked portion of the lever 41; and the free end of the lever 4l projects out through a slot fifi in the lside of the machine head. An L-shaped lever 44 is pivoted on a stud l5 which projects from the head ofthe machine directly above the slot Lili, and the lower end ci the vertical arm of the lever is hifurcated to embrace the free end of the former .lever al, The outer end of the horizontal arm lof the L-shaped lever has attached to it the upper end of a rod itwhich extends down through the hed plate of the machine Where it may he connected, hy a chain or other suit-l,

able means, to a foot actuated device; it hei i in deemed unnecessary to include details of such device, as it forms no part of my 1n# ventlon.

A spring actuated brake is provided for the hand 1vvheel by an angle lever 4'? that is pivoted to the side of the machinehead at The horizontall 'arm of the lever ein tends beneath the hand Wheel and carries a shoe of friction material for engaging said wheel, and is moved-into contact with theY wheel by a spring i9 which is anchored at the engagement of ,collar 46a with said arm. 4

y amm this campagna wai be een am when the rod i6 is drawn downward hy the actuation of the foot operated device, `pre viously'nientioned, the brake Wili ce Ireleased 'ronrthe hand Wheel and the Lfshaped lever 'de will 'be rocked 'to move the lever lll .in a

direction to draw the hand 37 about the disk.

28 and hold the disk against'rotation. A. spring 44s?, (see Fig. 5) which is attached at one endA to the vertical arm oiE the lever4i, and at the other to a part of the `machine head, tends to swing the lever 1li, andcon-` sequently the lever 41 in a direction. t loosen the hand 37 from lie disk 28. l

i/Vhenit is desired to rive this formr of my invention by motor, the pulley 6 may be l unlocked from the hand Wheel and the current turned intofthe motorV rlhis sets the motel' operation to rotate the gear 25 that 1s carried -by the upper end of. the arma ture shaft l5; but with the brake appliedy to the hand Wheel and the band 37 released from the"disk 28, the rotation of the gear will he Wholly spent in the idlers 26, whichwill race about the `internal geary 30,

and spin the disk 28.- To start the machine7 y the operator draws downwardly on vthe rod d6 which swings the L-shaped lever lll and consequently the lever il in a direction to draw the band 37 about the dish 28. Gradw. ally as the disk 28 is brought to a stop, the.

internal gear will pick up the rotation of the motor shaft and transmit it, through the roller ratchet, to the shaft 18, and thence through to the bevel pinions 20, 2l, 22 and Z3 to the upper and lower shafts i and 9 of;

the machine. To stop the machine, the rod Ll fis released to allow the spring di) toapply the 'oraketo thehand` wheel and release the hand '37 from the disk 28.

lin the form of my invention illustratedV thought unnecessary to repeat thevdescrip" tion of the structure which involves t Aese .parts. `The same parte will be indicated in thesey figures, characters.

In the form shown `in Figs. 6 and 7, `l drive the shaft 18 from the armature shaft l5 through reduction gearing comprising the spur gear that is keyed to the upper end of the shaft I5; a gear 5l, which meshes with the gear 50 and which is journaled upon ya stud 52 that is carried hy a bracket 53, ex-

thereiore, hy similar reference tending from the side of thehead A2:, and l pinion 5% that is formed integral with the gear 5l, and Whichnieshes 'with a gear 55 that is loosely mounted. upon the shaft 18. The gear 55 has a huh 56, which is provided 'with a clutch face 57, Wherewith is adapted llo A*lows the shaft 18 to be connection, throughthe` aforesaid, between the armature shaft-and' the shaft 18, when the parts are being driven by .the motor, find it necessary to en the circuit which supplies current to the motor', when it is desired to stop the machine. For this purpose I provide a form of switch which will now be described. Within a hollow boss 60 which extends from the vside/of the head 2 beneath the hand wheel 5, is 'contained a sleeve 6l of insulating material 'within which is set a pair of metallic contact rings 62 and 63,

` and adapted to reciprocate within this andhas vertical of the lever permits the band 66 is in contact sleeve, is a plug Gwhich is forcedI outwardly by a comparativelystrong spring 65, one'end of the springbemg contained within a recess 'A metallic band 66 surrounds the plug and is adapted to bridge the contact rings 62 andl 6,3 when the plug is pressed inwardly. The rings 62 and 63 forin the break in to the motor 10 so rthat when the plugw is pressed inwardly-.to connectthe two rings, the circuit throughthe` motor will be com pleted. Pivoted'v between/a pair of ears 68 that extend frointhe side of the head above the lbossO, is one end of anL-shaped lever 69 that extends beneath the hand wheel 5 branch `that 'projects down alongside and engages the outer ed of the plug 6,11. J ust below the hand wheel 5, the' arm is terial for coperation with saidwheel, and the dimensions of the parts are'such that, when the shoe 70 is inengagement with -the wheel 5, the lower end of the vertical arm plug .16.4 to be forced to the outer end of the sleeve 61 where its with only the .ring\63. A rod 71 (similar to the rod 46 described in conuectionwithmy previous form of mechalnism) is attached to the projection 72 of the arm 69, whereby the arm'may be rocked upon its pivot, against the tension of the spring 65, to disengage the shoe 70 from the wheel 5, and to close the aforesaid electric switch. The operation of this form of my invention is obvious.

In the form shown in Figs. 8 and 9,`the upper end of the armature shaft l5 has keyed to it a grocved pulley 73, and a larger grooved pulley 74 is loosely mounted upon the shaft 18 and is adapted to be connected therewith through the roller clutch 75, when rotated in an appropriate direction. A belt 76, which passesabout` the pulley 7 3, is

formed inthe inner` end' of the `plug 64.'

two sides of 'a' the circui'tfwhich' supplies current fitted with a shoe 70 of 'friction maguided over a pair of idlers 77 to the pulley 74. 'Ille idlers are carried on the ends of a 7 9 which is supported within a sleeve 80 that ext/ends from the side of the head 2 of the madhine, and the extension 79 is adapted to receive a Wingnut 81 for the purpose of adn justing the extension within the sleeve. Thereforewhen it is desired to vary the tension of the belt 76, it is only necessaryto adjust the nut 8l. if the reduction in speed secured through the difference in the sizes of the pulleys 7 3 and 7s, further reduction may be accomplished through the loosening ofthe belt, 76 and permitting said belt to slip. For the purpose of -cross Head 78 that has a threaded extension is insufficient, a l

automatically taking up slack which results from the belt stretching, l insert a spring 8l between the nut 8l and the adjacent sur face ofthe head 2.

ln all forms of my invention, it is necessary to have an opening in the rear of the machine head for the purpose of installing and removing the motor and other parte of the mechanism, and this opening is closed by a plate 90, which may be secured in. place in any suitable manner, and which openl ings 91 for the purpose of ventilating the motor. l

Having thus described 'my invention, what l claim is r- 1. ln a sewingjmachine having a hollow headguan upper shaft and a lower shaft, the combination of an. electric motor located withn the head and having a hollow, ver-ti cally' disposed armature extends through the 'armature shaft of the motor and operatively connects the upper and lower shafts of the sew-ing machine, and a driving connection between the armature shaft of the motor and the shaft 'which e1;-

Itends therethrough, which conneotionus of cally disposed armature shaft, a shaft which l vextends through the 'armature shaft of the .motor and operatively connects the upper and lower shafts Vof the sewing machine, and a ratchet connection between the armature shaft of the motor and the shaft which extends therethrough. i

ln a sewing machine having a hollow head, an upper, and a' lower shaft, the com'n bination of an electric motor located within the head of the sewing machiii'c and having `a hollow, rcrti ally disposed armature shaft, a shaft which entends through the armature shaft and operatively connects the uppe and lower shafts of the sewing machine, a pulley secured tothearinature shaft, a second;

shaft, a shaft which,

vpulley loosely mounted upon the shaft which first mentioned pulley, the idlers and the second mentioned pulley. i

Ll. ln a sewing machine having a hollow head, an upper, and a lower shaft, the cour bination of an electric motor located within the head of the sewing machine and having a hollow, vertically disposed armature shaft, ashaft which extends through the armature shaft andv operatively connects the upper and lower shafts of the sewing machine, a vpulley secured to the armature shaft, a second pulley loosely mounted upon the shaft which' passes through the armature shaft, ratchet connection between the second pulley and the shaft upon which it is mounted, a

member movable toward and from the pul-l leys, a pair of idlers carried by said member,

a belt whichpa'sses over the lirst mentioned pulley, the idlers and the second mentioned pulley, and a lmeans tending to'move the aforesaid member away from the pulleys.

5. In a sewing machine having a hollow head, an upper shaft and a lower shaft, the combination of an electric motor located within the head of the sewing machine and having a hollow, vertically disposed armature shaft, a shaft which 'extends through the armature shaft and operatively connects the upper and lower shafts Iof the sewing machine, a pulley secured to the armature shaft, a second pulley loosely mounted upon the shaft which passesthrough the armature shaft, ratchet connection between the second pulley and the shaft upon which it is mounted, a belt through which the second pulley is driven from the first pulley, guides for said belt, and means whereby the tension of said belt may be varied.

i 6. In a sewing machine having a hollow head, an upper shaft, and a lower shaft, the

combination of an electric motor located within the head of the sewing machine and having a hollow, vertically disposed armature shaft, a shaft which extends through the armature shaft and operatively connects the upper and lower shafts of the sewing niachine, a pulley secured to the armature shaft, a second pulley loosely mounted upon the shaft which passes through the armature shaft, ratchet connection between the second combination of an electric motor located within the head and having a hollow, vertically disposed armature shaft, a shaft which extends 'through the armatureshaft of the motor and operatively connects Vthe upper and lower shafts of thev sewing machine, a pulley secured to the armature shaft, a `second pulley upon the shaft which passes through the armature shaft, a pair of guides,

and a belt which passes.v over the first men tioned pulley, the-guides and the secondy mentioned pulley. l y

8. The combination, with thevneedle bar operating device and the shuttle actuating `means of a sewing, machine, of an electric motor located within the head of the machine and having a hollow, vertically disposed armature shaft, a shaft which extends ,Y

through the armature shaft of the motor and i i operatively connects the aforesaid needle bar operating device and the shuttle actuating means, and a driving connection between the armature shaft of the motor and the shaft which extends therethrough, which connec- .tionis of such nature as will allow the latter shaft to be rotated in one direction independently of the former shaft.

In testimony whereof, l hereunto aiiix my signature in the presence of two-witnesses.

ARTHURT. MACE. TWitnesses:

Onrvnn fl. STUART, BRENNAN B. VnsT. 

